The majority of immigrant pioneers to the North West Territories were involved with the Hudson Bay Company and North West Company in the 1800s. First Nation and immigrant residents were hunters, trappers, gatherers. Homesteading was the main occupation of immigrants to Saskatchewan in the early 1900s. There were also other occupations to sustain the booming population of the "Last Best West".
Libraries have copies of "Henderson's Directories" which started in 1885. These directories list persons in a household over the age of 18, their residential address and occupation. Census records and the Canadian National Registration of 1940 records, Passenger Lists and Naturalization records stated each person along with their occupation as well.
The historical dates combined with local history may also help to uncover ancestral source documents for family background. For example if an family arrived to Canada with young children in the early 1900s, their sons may be of age to serve in WW1, so Military papers from Canadian Expeditionary Force may uncover family information.
If Saskatchewan residents were local public officials, involved with a community, school or church organization, these records are quite often found both in Local History and Family Biography Books and at Provincial Archives.
Interviews with family members may uncover letters, photographs, diaries which may also provide a detailed biographical ancestral profile. Whether you locate these, a will or estate document or a homestead record they may help you to determine the occupation and thereby help to determine how the family lived.
Discovering an ancestor's occupation helps to add a bit of color to the family tree and may incite youngsters and other family members into the fascinating world of genealogy. Occupations specific to pioneering families in Saskatchewan may have been...ice cream making, butter churning, spinning, threshing, hay baling, wheat grinding, stooking, bag tying, clay oven baking, wood cutting, steam plowing, hunter, trapper, lawyer, surveyor, land titles agent, operating horse drawn tillage harvesting equipment, politician, blacksmith, shoe making, spinning-tatting, grocer, restaurant owner, laundry operator, quilting, wheat weaving, rope making, sawmill and rock crusher operations, homesteader, farmer, teacher, clergy, railway, telegraph or post office operator. Visiting a historical museum, original homestead location, or occupational workplace of our ancestor's helps to add knowledge and understanding of the lifestyle experienced in familial history.
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Ancestral Occupational Resumes
Ancestry.com Working for a living
Biographies - men in the arts -Saskatchewan art history in old newspapers and on the internet
Biographies - women in the arts -Saskatchewan art history in old newspapers and on the internet
Canadian Forts - Saskatchewan
Canadian Genealogy Centre - Employment-
Public Service
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Private Companies
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North West Mounted Police
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Police
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Railways
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Merchant Marine
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Clergy
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Teachers
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Medical Personnel
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Fur Trade
Canadian Railway Telegraph History Website
Cyndi's List .com Occupations
Genelogical Index for Canadian Railway Telegraph Agents, Opserators, Dispatchers ...
First Ten Years. Saskatoon Community Clinic, 1962-1974 - Medical - history of the Community Health Services Association in Saskatoon.
Genealogical Resources on the Internet - Occupations
Héritage Portal Royal Canadian Mounted Police. C Division. Battleford records two digitized microfilm reels
"The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a parliamentary police force created in 1873. It was meant to keep law and order among incoming settlers to the region west of Ontario, help Aboriginals make the transition to Indian reserves, and act as a symbol of Canadian sovereignty against American annexation. The police force was partially created in response to Fenian invaders who nearly made it to Manitoba in 1871.....Source
Héritage Portal Royal Canadian Mounted Police B Division journals 3 digitized microfilm reels
Héritage Portal Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Office of the Commissioner: official correspondence: indexes and registers, 1876-1920 3 digitized microfilm reels "..This collection consists of indexes and registers. These records are incomplete up to 1885. The indexes constitute a finding aid to the registers, which in turn give a description of the contents of the files. From 1911 to 1920, the indexes do not refer to general subject titles but only to individuals under investigation. .."
Héritage Portal Department of Public Works, Board of Works records, official correspondence : Registered correspondence, 1842-1860 46 digitized microfilm reels Mainly in regards to Government Department of Public Works: bridges, roads, public buildings, canals, and tenders
Héritage Portal Public Service Commission : Commissioners meetings 4 microfilm reels digitized
Héritage Portal Charles Alexander Magrath fonds 3 microfilm reels digitized "Charles Alexander Magrath (1860 - 1949) was a public servant, politician, and a Dominion land surveyor in the Northwest Territories; he served in the latter role between 1878 and 1885. He was the superintendent of irrigation and colonization... and Land Commissioner of the North Western Coal and Navigation Company..."
Héritage Portal Land surveyor certificates1 microfilm reels digitized "This collection consists of 44 pages of certificates issued in April 1867 to John McArll, Jesse Nunn, James Stewart and James Dickson to practise as Land Surveyors in Canada West. .."
Héritage Portal Sir Henry James Warre fonds 2 microfilm reels digitized
Sir Henry James Warre (1819 - 1898) Amongst a varied career, what pertains to Saskatchewan when it was a portion of the North West Territories was that... "He was sent on a secret military reconnaissance mission to Oregon in 1845 to prepare for a situation where a territorial dispute between Britain and America might escalate into war" This event was before the 49th parallel was surveyed as a boundary between Canada and the United States of America, so historical maps differ as to the borders of that time. ..."The early journals include pencil sketches and watercolour paintings. "
Héritage Portal Post Office Department, Administrative Branch : General correspondence 6 digitized microfilm reels "This collection consists of general records containing files relating to Christmas help, 1932-1934..."
Héritage Portal Post Office Department, Divisional Inspectors : Reports 86 digitized microfilm reels "This collection consists of reports from Divisional Inspectors and best reflects the development of the post office service as a mirror of the settlement of Canada. The reports frequently contain useful descriptions of communities requesting new postal services. Included are maps and site plans for housing postal facilities, petitions, biographical information about persons recommended for or seeking postmastership positions, patronage correspondence, recommendations or suggestions for names or name changes or for a change of site, and notices of post office closings. ..."
Héritage Portal Regional and local post office records 4 digitized microfilm reels "...This collection consists of records maintained by and obtained from a number of regional and local post offices. The records relate primarily to the receipt and dispatching of mail and scrapbooks. Included in this series are Post Office impression books of stamps, seals and postal advertising for the years 1908 to 1953. ..."
Historical Highlights of the RCMP
History of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Legal Correspondents of Wilber Mercantile Agency in Canada, 1917
National Archives - Postal Archives*-- postmasters at individual post ffices located across Canada
One Room School House Project - Saskatchewan Teachers
Report of the Commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police Force 1888 -->Search terms (stations)....Regina, Battleford, MacLeod, Swift Current, Willow bunch, Alameda, Cannington, Bresaylor, Sixty mile bush (Biggar), Elbow, Prince Albert, Batoche, Saskatoon, Qu'Appelle Station, Qu'Appelle, Whitewood, Broadview, Wolseley, Moosomin, Touchwood, Langenburg, Moose Jaw, Humboldt, Wood Mountain.
Rootsweb Message Boards: Boards > Topics > Occupations
- Mining
- Transportation
- Rail Road Passenger list 1800's
- River Boat Crews
- Shipbuilding
- Occupations [General]
- Apothecaries
- Brewery Workers
- Brick Manufacturers
- Buffalo Hunters
- Circus
- Dentists
- Genealogy Certification
- Glass & Crystal Makers
- Goldseekers
- Harness Makers
- Pony Express Riders
- Railroad Workers
- Rodeos and Wild West shows
- Shoemakers
- Stonemasons
- Teachers
- Theater
- Veterinary
- Violin Makers
- Woodworkers
Saskatchewan Business and Commerce from Family Search.org >>This page adopted by:
The Saskatchewan GenWeb and its members who welcome you to contribute.
Saskatchewan Premiers of Canada and Leaders of Opposition
School Districts
Trading Posts and Forts - Atlas of Saskatchewan
Violet: Saskatchewan Experiences (teaching School)
Western Canada Baseball - teams and photos
If your family heritage included a baseball team player, there are many teams to check out here -- for instance a sampling would be:
- Moosomin
- Saskatoon Lions
- Sceptre
- Delisle
- Colonsay Monarchs
- North Battleford Beavers
- Saskatoon 55s
- Sceptre Nixons
- Medicine Hat
- Indian Head Rockets
- Kamsack Cyclones
- Saskatoon Gems
- Kamsack Cyclones
- Lloydminster Meridians
- Yorkton Cardinals
- Moose Jaw Mallards
- Regina Senators
- Saskatoon Commodores
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